The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to spend more than £300m on a new IT system as it prepares to sell off 314 branches under the Williams & Glyn's moniker.
RBS is reviving the Williams & Glyn's name after 30 years, with the intention that RBS branches in England and Wales would be re-branded under the new name prior to a public share flotation of the separate business, or a trade sale.
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Last week, in a statement, RBS said: "RBS has agreed a £600m pre-IPO investment in its Williams & Glyn's business (formerly known as Project Rainbow), which centres around 314 branches in the UK, with a consortium of investors led by global financial services specialists Corsair Capital and Centrebridge Partners."
IBM and Indian IT consultancy Infosys have been hired to lead the project to build the new system, which will be based on RBS's existing platform, according to The Telegraph.
When Computing contacted RBS, the bank declined to comment on the plans.
The branches had originally been expected to be bought by Santander UK, but the Spanish bank claimed that it had "issues" in making RBS's IT system interoperable with its own technology. It said that it would be too costly and complicated, leading to delays.
The new IT infrastructure should be completely separate from RBS's platform to ensure that the system can be operational within the next few years.
